Why Black Hair Matters
The fight for freedom and equality won’t be over in this century, nor the one after. There is no winning this fight because as soon as one out-group finds equality new groups and means to discriminate are determined. Regardless of that we must all persist in protest everywhere, and every way.
We need to challenge these regulations which seek to render us invisible. We need to challenge the wording of rules that forbid exotic hair such as dreadlocks and spikes. Why are dreadlocks exotic?
Even the rule that forbids young boys from shaving their heads, is a continuation of the colonial project to emasculate the black man. For the black man, a shaved head symbolised masculinity, authority, and dominance.
I never understood the rationale of this rule. The black African has to shave his head after a funeral or after initiation, his custom and traditions are undermined by the hair rules and regulations. Do you not see the injustice?
To examine these tensions, it becomes imperative that the topic be placed within the historical context of black lives. Black people’s hair has been historically devalued.
For many years the black populace has had to battle for acceptance, and integrate with the dominant white population and their norms by ways of assimilation. It’s convenient for many to say forget about the past. But the past continues into the present.
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